Stories

Holiday Gift Guide for Dogs and Dog Lovers

If you’re on the hunt for holiday gifts for the dog lovers in your life, you’ve come to the right place. We’re dog lovers too and all our gear is designed to inspire fun outside. We’ve selected gear that will get tails wagging in the winter by offering warmth and extra visibility. Plus, we’ve picked out a few perennial pieces that are trail-ready and budget-friendly.

Creating New Memories with Hand-Me-Down Dog Gear

Ruffwear Ambassador, Laura Patton, shares how passing down dog gear from one dog to another brings bittersweet joy – preserving one dog's memory and creating space for more memories to be made. 

The New Hemp Hound™ Sweater: A Sustainability Move?

Hemp in the outdoor apparel marketplace these days has a compelling sustainability narrative around it. Well-known brands are ramping up the use of this undeniably cool fiber. I’m often asked if the new Hemp Hound™ Sweater was a “sustainability” move. And, to answer, I’ll defer to the longtime favorite Facebook relationship status – “it’s complicated.”

The Furness™ Jacket: A Game Changer for Cold-Weather Exploring

Ruffwear Ambassadors Katie & Quinci are desert-dwelling, trash collecting, and community-loving outdoor enthusiasts. They live in Arizona and spend as much time as they can hiking, paddleboarding, climbing, and backpacking. Here, Katie shares how Ruffwear's Furness Jacket has kept Quinci warm on cold & windy excursions. 

New Gear for Winter 2022

This winter season, we’re taking a cue from our dogs and pressing the play button. Whether you and your pup are hitting the slopes or fetching sticks in a crisp city park, our Innovative Insulation Collection will provide the warmth to extend your winter play. 

How To Clean a Dirty Dog's Dirty Gear

Dogs know how to play, and that means splashing and crawling through nature’s biggest mess-makers. We’ve got you covered with our dog gear cleaning instructions and solutions to your toughest cleaning puzzles. 

New Gear for Spring 2022

This season, we’re highlighting waypoints – the places along life’s journey that hold significance. With our tail-wagging pals by our sides, we return to these spots time and again. Leaving new foot and paw prints. Collecting memories. Ready to kick off spring by retracing or discovering your waypoints? We’ve got you covered with our new spring gear from two of our top collections: Camp & Hike and Backpacking. 

Gear Up Your New Dog: The Essentials

We’ve rounded up our top 7 picks for the essential gear you’ll need when getting a new dog – think of it as your starter kit. One of our Pack Support experts, Kerry, shares how this gear will start you off on the right paw. 

Winter Paw Protection: Polar Trex™ Dog Boots

Winter conditions can leave paws cracking, scraped, bleeding, or packed with uncomfortable snowballs, cutting the snow day short. What do you do when the bounding stops and the paw licking starts? The Polar Trex™ Boots can give your dog freedom to keep exploring through the winter months.

New Gear for Winter 2021

As fall transitions to winter, we bring you new colors for a few of our winter favorites. With these fresh pops of color, your dog will stand out in the blankets of powder. Brighten up your canine sidekick’s winter attire with new colors like Fired Brick, Campfire Orange, and Aurora Teal. 

How Rogue Detection Dogs Inspired the High-Vis Web Master™

Rogue Detection Dog Bounders (handlers) Heath and Jennifer had some great words and pictures to share with us about their history with the Web Master, and how their work and partnership contributed to the development of the High-Vis Web Master.

PRIDE Weekend Adventure with Cory, Rafa, and Bondi

In this story, Cory, Rafa, and Bondi (she’s the one with the four paws and tail) share their adventure to Portland to celebrate PRIDE Weekend. They explore this dog-friendly city as they celebrate an important life experience.

4 Things to Consider Before Backcountry Skiing with Your Dog

Riding in the backcountry can be one of the most fun activities you do with your dog. With proper planning and practice, you can share powder turns with your best friend! Here are four things to consider before enjoying the backcountry safely with your tail-wagging sidekick.

New Gear for Fall 2021

This season, we’re tapping into the inner explorer within us all and following the curiosity to seek new experiences – to grow, adapt, transform, and become. As summer transitions to fall, our new gear is designed to help you and your pup shift gears and keep the dog days going.

New River. New Park. New Inspiration.

When it comes to product design and color choice, Ruffwear’s Product Design & Development team looks to nature—to the wild places and landscapes that inspire and connect us. The New River provided the inspiration for one of our newest leash and collar patterns.

The Value of a River

Jilkaat Heeni, the Tlingit name for a river that others know as the Chilkat River, means “Storage Container for Salmon.” The Tlingit people have stewarded the Chilkat Valley since time immemorial. Its watershed offers sustenance and habitat for both wildlife and people living in the nearby Klukwan and Haines communities.

The Bowl That Started It All

It all began in 1994 with a lightweight, packable bowl to fuel dogs on the go. It opened up a new world of exploring with our dogs – a world that has in turn fueled our inspiration ever since. 

Behind The Design: The Switchbak™ Leash

With plenty of double-ended leashes already out there, our designers set out to put a Ruffwear twist into a classic design. Ruffwear's new sliding V-rings and silicone-dipped webbing stand apart from the typical fixed rings and leather. Together, they create a smooth-adjusting leash and a soft, supple hand-feel. 

New Gear: Spring 2021

Dogs add lightness, joy, and connection to everything we do – whether they’re your companion while you seek out a place of belonging in the outdoors, your sidekick as you conquer new heights together, or your motivation to simply keep going.

All Work & All Play: Avy Dog Inspired & Tested Toys

As snow blankets ski areas across North America each winter, avalanche rescue dogs are clocking in and going to work on the slopes. These highly-trained dogs and their ski patroller handlers train at their home mountains every day during ski season.

Meet Our Newest (Home) Office Dogs

What. A. Year. 2020 has challenged us to adapt to new ways of living, working, connecting, and exploring. For some of the Ruffwear crew, it's also been a year of growth in the form of welcoming a new pup into their pack. Meet Juno, Firnie, Atlas, River, and Wendell – a few of the newest dogs at Ruffwear. 

Holiday Like The Pros: Ambassador Picks

Ruffwear Ambassadors share our belief that dogs make us whole and our relationship with our dogs is shaped by the adventures we share. So who better to turn to for some holiday inspiration than our very own Ambassador Pack? Read on for their top gear picks and other ways they make the holidays with their canine companions an extra special time of year. 

The Dog is in the Details: Designing the Home Trail™ Hip Pack

It used to be quite the production getting out the door with my pup without forgetting any of her or my stuff. Enter the Home Trail™ Hip Pack. I call it my “go-bag.” Now, the time between “Want to go for a walk?” and “Let’s go!” is a simple grab-and-go on the way out rather than the frantic herding of pick-up bags and treats. 

The Story Behind Our New Glacier Pattern

Whether peering deep into a crevasse or ogling the sprawling vastness from high above, glaciers are inherently artful elements of nature. This was all on designer Liz’s mind as she developed Glacier – this season’s new pattern for the Climate Changer™ Jacket and Climate Changer™ Pullover.

New Gear for Fall 2020

This season, we’re introducing new human gear for carrying you and your sidekick's everyday essentials. Plus, check out the new designs and looks for our iconic cold weather jackets and boots, all built to keep your pup warm so you can linger longer in the moments that matter – whatever the weather.

Our Trail Tested Promise

All our products are rigorously field-tested – by real dogs really getting after it. Before any Ruffwear gear ends up on the trail with you and your dog, every component – from buckles and stitching to fabrics and webbing – has been put to the test and held to strict standards.

Behind the Design: Color Stories

The subtle hues and bursts of color in the landscapes we explore with our dogs inspire and influence the colors of Ruffwear gear. Sure – dogs see the colors of the rainbow a little differently than we do. But what if it's more about their experience of it than it is the looks?

Pura Vida: Ruffwear in Costa Rica

Meet Sebastian and Esteban. They're brothers that live in Costa Rica with their dogs Gala, Ras, Chaco, Duna, and Tony, and they've partnered with Ruffwear as our distributors in the region since 2016. We turned to Sebastian and Esteban to learn more about life, dogs, and adventure in Costa Rica.  

Pack Up & Get Out: What Our Office Dogs Pack on the Trails

As the air grows warmer and the sun lingers longer, we can’t help but get excited for backpacking, camping, and long days on the trail. Our employees and office dogs sure know how to pack in the fun, so here's a look at their go-to gear when their furry sidekick is shouldering some of the load.

Staying Cool the Rogue Dog Way

Rogue Detection Dogs are happy to work all day traversing plains, climbing up mountains, trekking through snow, and clambering over rocks and fallen trees, all with the expectation of playing with their ball – their reward for successfully locating wildlife scat. Ruffwear proudly supports and partners with Rogue Detection Teams by providing gear to all of the dogs. 

How to Train an Adventure Puppy

Training a dog is an adventure all on its own. The journey is long but the view at the end is a smiling dog with a spark in his eye.

New Gear for Summer 2020

Summer 2020 has us gearing up to dig into what it means to find purpose and healing in the outdoors with our dogs. We're using the downtime to strengthen our connections and ignite our imagination for the road ahead – dreaming up new ways to explore with our ever-faithful canine companions.

Threads of Innovation: How Our Reflective Webbing Is Made

Curiosity led Ruffwear product designer Monica down a path of discovering a way to weave reflectivity into jacquard webbing. The result: reflective leashes and collars in striking and durable patterns.

The Craftsmanship Behind the Front Range® Harness

Mindfully designed. Diligently constructed. Trail tested. That’s the craftsmanship behind every piece of gear from Ruffwear – all from the perspective of your canine explorer, and focused on their comfort, freedom, and experience. Here's a look at how that craftsmanship shaped the Front Range® Harness. 

New Gear for Spring 2020

This season's new gear is an invitation to you and your number-one trail buddy to be curious, take the first step, and start down your own road less traveled.

Exploring Politely On-Leash Using the Front Range Harness

Collars don’t teach dogs polite manners, pet owners do. Plus, collars can cause injury when dogs pull against them. Instead, reach for a comfortable dog harness, six-foot leash, and lots of super yummy treats. Now, it’s time to get busy teaching your dog polite leash manners.

Digging Into Our Environmental Pawprint: Supply Chain

We checked in with Kelly, Ruffwear's Sustainability Coordinator, to see what she’s learned in her first year. As Kelly explains, it’s an ever-evolving, always-room-to-improve process with numerous factors involved. In this article, we’ll look at Ruffwear’s efforts in establishing an environmentally-conscious supply chain.

6 Tips for Breaking in Ruffwear Dog Boots

Boots can help dogs with grip and traction on loose, rocky terrain, on ice and snow, and on other wet surfaces. They protect paws from hot pavement, coarse, rocky trails, clumpy snow, salt, and more. Yet, just like human boots, dog boots need a break-in period. We’ve got 6 tips for breaking in Ruffwear dog boots.

What's the Difference Between Waterproof & Water-Resistant?

What's the difference between the "waterproof" and "water-resistant"? We put together a quick rundown of the performance you can expect from each and in which of our dog gear you'll find them.

Connections Built to Last

Climbing is part of Ruffwear’s heritage. For more than 23 years, many Ruffwear employees have spent their evenings and weekends shedding layers of skin on boulders, rock walls, big walls, and alpine granite. Our office dogs are also our crag dogs.

Preventing Snowballs – The Ruffwear Way

As snow lovers, we often find ourselves running joyfully through endless hills of white powder without a worry in the world…until…it happens. The inevitable cosmic reaction to fluffy snow when it makes contact with fluffy fur – “Snowballs.”